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But as soon as they brought the welding rod close to the tanker, it caught fire - sending the entire fuel station up in flames.

Eyewitnesses said flames rose 30 feet into the sky from the inferno.

The 30-second video filmed by a bystander shows a thick cloud of black smoke and fire streaming from the petrol station.

Seconds later, the flames erupt in all directions.

This is the shocking moment a petrol station is engulfed by 30-foot flames after hapless thieves use a blow torch to try to steal petrol from a tanker in Hyderbad city, the capital of Telangana state, India

Sirens can be heard in the background as terrified pedestrians run from the inferno in panic.

Two people are in a critical condition and a third was injured following the terrifying incident.

Police said the explosion took place at about 2pm when people suspected of 'being involved in illegal diversion of petrol' were closing the seal of the tanker by welding it after transferring petrol into small drums.

The fire started when thieves who had punctured holes in a tanker containing nearly 12,000 litres of petrol tried to weld it shut, police said

Ch. R.Umamaheswara Sarma, DCP, Malkajgiri said: 'The lorry tanker belongs to a private petroleum company and it was diverted from a nearby refilling plant.

'Under the impact of the explosion, another empty tanker also caught fire and went up in flames as a result of which three fire service personnel suffered injuries.'

The owner of the plot of land, and the driver and cleaner of the lorry fled from the scene.

Passersby were also injured and casualties were rushed to the Gandhi Hospital for treatment.